Five days of no practice or meetings have the Miami Dolphins invigorated and refreshed headed into the meat of their schedule.

Some of the players stayed in town anyway and those that were recovering from injuries actually got some work in at the facility, but today it was really time to get back to work. Head Coach Joe Philbin liked what he saw as the team prepares to open its AFC East schedule on Sunday at home against the Buffalo Bills.

“It was good to get back on the practice field and begin our preparation to play our first division game against a good Buffalo team,” Philbin said. “I think they needed some time to get away and it looked like we had a good attitude and a good effort on the practice field on our first day for Buffalo.”

While left guard Richie Incognito went down to the Keys and defensive tackle Jared Odrick crossed the Canadian border into Canada, cornerback Brent Grimes took it easy at home playing video games on PlayStation and just allowing his muscles to rest. He has been going full tilt all five games after missing all but part of the first game last season with Atlanta with an Achilles’ injury.

For Grimes, the bye came at the perfect time after he faced quarterbacks Andrew Luck, Matt Ryan, Drew Brees and Joe Flacco in successive weeks, with Luck and Brees happening on the road. Now he can get his second wind and try to help Miami position itself within the division for a playoff run.

“It was good just to get away for a little bit because you need that for a few days,” said Grimes, who has 18 tackles (17 solo), one interception and a team-high six passes defensed. “Of course you still think football, you watch some football, you think about some things you want to get better but for the most part it’s cool to just lay down, relax, chill out and not have to worry about your alarm. So it was cool to unplug and refresh your mind and body.”

Grimes did watch some other NFL games on Sunday, including the one between the New England Patriots and New Orleans Saints that came down to the wire, with the Patriots winning in the final seconds, 30-27.

Cornerback Nolan Carroll actually went back up to Maryland to watch his alma mater take on the University of Virginia in a thriller that the Terps won, 27-26. He also needed to rest up from some bumps and bruises he received at New Orleans and in the last home game against Baltimore but is eager to take on the Bills and get that AFC East portion started on the right foot.

“It’s definitely exciting to start playing those division games because for us one of our goals as a team is to win division games,” Carroll said. “If we can do that and finish on top in the division, more than likely you’re going to go to the playoffs. So we’re really excited to play a good Buffalo team that’s coming in and we need to just line up and then just play. We’ve got to go out there, we’ve got to execute and do the things we need to do that helped us get those first three wins.”